Read Online Safe at Last (Slow Burn #3) by Maya Banks - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Maya Banks
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names in art right now. You’ve created a place for yourself in the world. Are you going to let him destroy all that?”
Anna-Grace frowned, because when put that way, while she hadn’t had a choice over what happened to her all those years ago, now? She did have a choice. She was a different person than she’d been then. Older. Wiser. Not as young and naïve. Not as gullible. And yes, as Wade said, she was stronger now.
It was nearly laughable to consider any part of herself strong when she’d hidden for so long, scared of her own shadow. But she was strong. Stronger than she gave herself credit for. And Wade was also right in that she’d built a life for herself. Right here. Her showing was in a week. It was what could launch her entire career.
Wade leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead in a gesture that looked decidedly intimate. To someone peeking in on them, they would appear to be lovers, clear affection between them. Only Anna-Grace and Wade knew better.
“Take a stand, Anna-Grace,” he whispered. “You aren’t alone. You’ll never be alone. Don’t allow your past to rule your present a single day longer. This is your moment to shine. Your moment in the sun. Don’t let anyone ruin it for you.”
She squared her shoulders and then lifted a hand to cup over Wade’s that still rested on her cheek. She leaned into his palm and briefly closed her eyes.
“I’m not that sixteen-year-old innocent, naïve girl any longer,” she said falteringly. But her voice grew stronger as she continued. “I’ll never be that girl again.”
She looked up at Wade with fire in her eyes.
“He took my life from me once. I won’t let him do it again. I’ll never allow him—anyone—to have that kind of power over me again.”
Wade smiled. “Now that’s the Anna-Grace I know.”
Anna-Grace took a deep breath. “I’m scared, Wade. I won’t lie about that. You heard him. He thought I was dead. What if they were supposed to kill me?”
Wade’s expression became hard. So hard that she shivered at the danger reflected in his dark eyes. His thumb rubbed along the indention of her chin and then moved to the corner of her mouth.
“I will never allow any harm to come to you, Anna-Grace. I swear it on my life.”
SEVEN
ZACK paced the interior of Eliza’s living room like a caged, restless lion ready to attack and kill. He dragged a hand repeatedly through his short, spiked hair until it was in complete disarray, shooting in a dozen different directions.
Sweat. He was sweating. His shirt was damp. His brow glistened with moisture. And a bead slipped down his spine, making him itchier and more irritable by the minute.
“Zack, sit down.”
Eliza’s voice was soft, but it carried a hint of command.
She glanced over the top of her laptop and motioned for him to sit down on the other wing of the sectional sofa. Eliza’s apartment was a study in comfort. Decorated in warm earth tones with a splash of femininity. Not overdone. Not too girly. It was a place a man would feel welcome. A place he could call home.
He’d dreamed of surprising Gracie with a huge home. A two-story mansion with at least seven bedrooms, and jack-and-jill bathrooms connecting the children’s bedrooms in twos. He’d wanted four boys and then two girls. Six of the bedrooms would be connected by a bathroom so that only two children would ever have to share one. And of course he’d want the little girls last so they’d have older brothers to look out for them and spoil them every bit as much as he would.
Gracie had loved the house that Zack had grown up in. It was the epitome of the American dream. Two-story white frame house with homey dormers, a sprawling front porch with a swing and a white picket fence surrounding the house. It was precisely the sort of home she’d daydreamed about, though he’d never brought her over after that first disaster when he’d taken her to meet his father. The memory still enraged him. His father
Anna-Grace frowned, because when put that way, while she hadn’t had a choice over what happened to her all those years ago, now? She did have a choice. She was a different person than she’d been then. Older. Wiser. Not as young and naïve. Not as gullible. And yes, as Wade said, she was stronger now.
It was nearly laughable to consider any part of herself strong when she’d hidden for so long, scared of her own shadow. But she was strong. Stronger than she gave herself credit for. And Wade was also right in that she’d built a life for herself. Right here. Her showing was in a week. It was what could launch her entire career.
Wade leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead in a gesture that looked decidedly intimate. To someone peeking in on them, they would appear to be lovers, clear affection between them. Only Anna-Grace and Wade knew better.
“Take a stand, Anna-Grace,” he whispered. “You aren’t alone. You’ll never be alone. Don’t allow your past to rule your present a single day longer. This is your moment to shine. Your moment in the sun. Don’t let anyone ruin it for you.”
She squared her shoulders and then lifted a hand to cup over Wade’s that still rested on her cheek. She leaned into his palm and briefly closed her eyes.
“I’m not that sixteen-year-old innocent, naïve girl any longer,” she said falteringly. But her voice grew stronger as she continued. “I’ll never be that girl again.”
She looked up at Wade with fire in her eyes.
“He took my life from me once. I won’t let him do it again. I’ll never allow him—anyone—to have that kind of power over me again.”
Wade smiled. “Now that’s the Anna-Grace I know.”
Anna-Grace took a deep breath. “I’m scared, Wade. I won’t lie about that. You heard him. He thought I was dead. What if they were supposed to kill me?”
Wade’s expression became hard. So hard that she shivered at the danger reflected in his dark eyes. His thumb rubbed along the indention of her chin and then moved to the corner of her mouth.
“I will never allow any harm to come to you, Anna-Grace. I swear it on my life.”
SEVEN
ZACK paced the interior of Eliza’s living room like a caged, restless lion ready to attack and kill. He dragged a hand repeatedly through his short, spiked hair until it was in complete disarray, shooting in a dozen different directions.
Sweat. He was sweating. His shirt was damp. His brow glistened with moisture. And a bead slipped down his spine, making him itchier and more irritable by the minute.
“Zack, sit down.”
Eliza’s voice was soft, but it carried a hint of command.
She glanced over the top of her laptop and motioned for him to sit down on the other wing of the sectional sofa. Eliza’s apartment was a study in comfort. Decorated in warm earth tones with a splash of femininity. Not overdone. Not too girly. It was a place a man would feel welcome. A place he could call home.
He’d dreamed of surprising Gracie with a huge home. A two-story mansion with at least seven bedrooms, and jack-and-jill bathrooms connecting the children’s bedrooms in twos. He’d wanted four boys and then two girls. Six of the bedrooms would be connected by a bathroom so that only two children would ever have to share one. And of course he’d want the little girls last so they’d have older brothers to look out for them and spoil them every bit as much as he would.
Gracie had loved the house that Zack had grown up in. It was the epitome of the American dream. Two-story white frame house with homey dormers, a sprawling front porch with a swing and a white picket fence surrounding the house. It was precisely the sort of home she’d daydreamed about, though he’d never brought her over after that first disaster when he’d taken her to meet his father. The memory still enraged him. His father
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